Spirit in Transition: Red Sky in the Morning

I woke up early last Saturday to let the chickens out and everywhere there was a soft red glow.
The sun rising in the East was red.
In the afternoon it was still red though not as intense. The color of the air was smokey with a soft red cast.
The wind blowing in from the east brought the smoke from the wild fires with it. Of course! Everything is connected. Just because we don't live by an active fire doesn't mean we won't be affected.

Some years ago when people were just becoming aware that cigarette smoke was really bad restaurants and some bars began to offer a smoking area. Although it was a step in the right direction, the smoke could not be corralled so easily... it just drifted right into the non-smoking areas which were never cordoned off with a wall or anything that could actually prevent the smoke from traveling. It was a reminder that everything is connected - though there were people who chose to believe otherwise, arguing that their personal freedom was being infringed upon. Their right to smoke was a right they believed trumped the right of others to breathe clean air.

Smoking is no longer common in the circles that I belong to. Smokers have to hide their habit and because so many places are off limits to smoking, most people who still indulge have cut down the amount significantly. This is not only good for their health but also for the health of those who live with them, or work near them and for all who care about them as well. It is too bad that society has not been able to move the people who pollute the air to change as well. Instead, tons of harmful gases are released into the atmosphere hour after hour, day after day without stop, in spite of the clear damage to the air we breathe and the life of the planet we inhabit.

I can only imagine that key players in the fossil fuel and animal agriculture industries believe that they will personally be able to avoid the foul air and changing climate. Perhaps they believe that with enough money they can build for themselves and those they love an impenetrable fortress. Maybe there are a few pristine places left in the world but they will not last unless humans change the way they do business, transport themselves and consume natural resources. Is it not becoming more and more clear that everything is connected? Those who still believe they can live independently should look more closely at the world around them- get out into the woods, watch a sunset, breathe deeply, and recognize that there is no action without reaction. What we do matters.

Red Sky in the twilight, a lovely good night.